He did not identify who the consultant is, but he said the U.S. Department of the Interior, through the Pacific Power Association, is “paying for this valuable service.”
At the same time, Malae said CUC is obligated to operate the utility and “not just expend valuable time and resources writing reports or responding to queries.”
CUC must strike a balance between responding to queries from the regulators — the Commonwealth Public Utilities Commission and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency — and performing all its duties to the public, Malae said.
“The cynical and those who were hurt (or continue to be miffed) by poor utility service may say we got our just deserts,” he added, referring to the federal stipulated orders.
But CUC, he said, wants to “speed up its improvements without constantly wondering if every decision is going to be second-guessed.”
He added, “CUC is gathering data, reviewing information and synthesizing statistics to develop reports to meet its operational and regulatory obligations.”
